Integrated circuit fabrication

ABSTRACT

A method for defining patterns in an integrated circuit comprises defining a plurality of features in a first photoresist layer using photolithography over a first region of a substrate. The method further comprises using pitch multiplication to produce at least two features in a lower masking layer for each feature in the photoresist layer. The features in the lower masking layer include looped ends. The method further comprises covering with a second photoresist layer a second region of the substrate including the looped ends in the lower masking layer. The method further comprises etching a pattern of trenches in the substrate through the features in the lower masking layer without etching in the second region. The trenches have a trench width.

PRIORITY APPLICATION

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.12/119,831 (filed May 13, 2008), which is a continuation of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 11/216,477 (filed 31 Aug. 2005), now U.S. Pat. No.7,611,944, which is a non-provisional of U.S. Provisional PatentApplication 60/666,031 (filed 28 Mar. 2005). The entire disclosure ofall of these priority applications are hereby incorporated by referenceherein.

REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is related to U.S. patent application Ser. No.10/932,993 (filed 1 Sep. 2004), U.S. patent application Ser. No.10/934,778 (filed 2 Sep. 2004), U.S. patent application Ser. No.10/931,771 (filed 31 Aug. 2004), U.S. patent application Ser. No.10/934,317 (filed 2 Sep. 2004), now U.S. Pat. No. 7,655,387, U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 11/215,982 (filed 31 Aug. 2005), U.S. ProvisionalPatent Application 60/662,323 (filed 15 Mar. 2005), and U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 11/134,982 (filed 23 May 2005), now U.S. Pat. No.7,429,536. The entire content of all of these related applications ishereby incorporated by reference herein.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to integrated circuitfabrication, and more specifically to masking techniques.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Integrated circuits are continuously being made smaller as demand forportability, computing power, memory capacity and energy efficiency inmodern electronics grows. Therefore, the size of the integrated circuitconstituent features, such as electrical devices and interconnect linewidths, is also decreasing continuously. The trend of decreasing featuresize is evident in memory circuits or devices such as dynamic randomaccess memory (“DRAM”), flash memory, nonvolatile memory, static randomaccess memory (“SRAM”), ferroelectric (“FE”) memory, logic gate arraysand so forth.

For example, DRAM typically comprises millions of identical circuitelements, known as memory cells. In its most general form, a memory celltypically consists of two electrical devices: a storage capacitor and anaccess field effect transistor. Each memory cell is an addressablelocation that can store one binary digit (“bit”) of data. A bit can bewritten to a cell through the transistor and read by sensing charge onthe storage electrode from the reference electrode side. By decreasingthe sizes of constituent electrical devices and the conducting linesthat access them, the sizes of the memory devices incorporating thesefeatures can be decreased. Thus, storage capacities can be increased byfitting more memory cells into the memory devices.

As another example, flash memory (for example, electrically erasableprogrammable read only memory or “EEPROM”) is a type of memory that istypically erased and reprogrammed in blocks instead of one byte at atime. A typical flash memory comprises a memory array, which includes alarge number of memory cells. The memory cells include a floating gatefield effect transistor capable of holding a charge. The data in a cellis determined by the presence or absence of the charge in the floatinggate. The cells are usually grouped into sections called “erase blocks.”The memory cells of a flash memory array are typically arranged into a“NOR” architecture (each cell directly coupled to a bit line) or a“NAND” architecture (cells coupled into “strings” of cells, such thateach cell is coupled indirectly to a bit line and requires activatingthe other cells of the string for access). The cells within an eraseblock can be electrically programmed in a random basis by charging thefloating gate. The charge can be removed from the floating gate by ablock erase operation, wherein all floating gate memory cells in theerase block are erased in a single operation.

The pitch of a pattern is defined as the distance between an identicalpoint in two neighboring pattern features. These features are typicallydefined by openings in, and spaced from each other by, a material, suchas an insulator or conductor. Thus, pitch can be understood as the sumof the width of a feature and the width of the space separating thatfeature from a neighboring feature.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In one embodiment of the present invention, a method for definingpatterns in an integrated circuit comprises defining a plurality offeatures in a first photoresist layer using photolithography over afirst region of a substrate. Pitch multiplication is used to produce atleast two features in a lower masking layer for each feature in thephotoresist layer. The features in the lower masking layer includelooped ends. A second photoresist layer covers a second region of thesubstrate including the looped ends in the lower masking layer. Apattern of trenches is etched in the substrate through the features inthe lower masking layer without etching in the second region. Thetrenches have a trench width.

In another embodiment of the present invention, a method of making aplurality of conductive lines in an array comprises providing a filmstack. The film stack includes a substrate in contact with a pluralityof conductive plugs, an insulating film overlying the conductive plugs,a lower mask layer overlying the insulating film, and an array ofspacers formed over the lower mask layer. A sacrificial film isdeposited over the lower mask layer and the array of spacers. Asecondary mask is formed over a portion of the sacrificial film. Thesecondary mask defines an opening in the array of spacers. The lowermask layer and the sacrificial film can be etched selectively withrespect to the secondary mask. The sacrificial film is etched and aportion of the lower mask layer is exposed. The method further comprisesetching the lower mask layer and exposing a portion of the insulatingfilm. A plurality of trenches are etched in the insulating film, thelower mask layer, and the sacrificial film to expose at least a portionof the conductive plugs. A blanket metal deposition is performed. Aplanar surface is then formed, alternating between metal and insulatingfilm in a damascene process.

In another embodiment of the present invention, a method of pitchmultiplication for damascene features in an integrated circuit comprisesproviding a substrate. A first masking process is performed to define anarray of spacer lines over the substrate. The spacer lines are separatedby a plurality of gaps. A second masking process is performed to block aportion of the spacer lines and that defines a plurality ofinterconnects in a logic region of the integrated circuit. A pluralityof trenches are etched in the gaps between the spacer lines. A metallayer is deposited to form a plurality of metal lines in the gapsbetween the spacer lines. The integrated circuit is provided with asubstantially planar surface in a damascene process.

In another embodiment of the present invention, a method of formingintegrated circuit components on a substrate comprises using alithographic technique to pattern a first resist layer and define aplurality of lines. A pitch multiplication technique is used to form apattern of spacers around a region defined by the plurality of lines.The spacers comprise elongate loops having loop ends. A second resistlayer is deposited over the loop ends to define a blocked region of thesubstrate. The method further comprises selectively etching through thespacers to from a plurality of trenches in the substrate without etchingin the blocked regions.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Exemplary embodiments of the integrated circuits and integrated circuitfabrication techniques are illustrated in the accompanying drawings,which are for illustrative purposes only. The drawings comprise thefollowing figures, which are not necessarily drawn to scale. In thefigures like numerals indicate like parts.

FIG. 1A is a cross-sectional view of a substrate having a plurality ofmask lines formed thereon.

FIG. 1B is a cross-sectional view of the substrate of FIG. 1A after ananisotropic etch process transferring the mask pattern into a temporarylayer.

FIG. 1C is a cross-sectional view of the substrate of FIG. 1B afterremoval of the mask lines and an isotropic “shrink” etch.

FIG. 1D is a cross-sectional view of the substrate of FIG. 1C afterblanket deposition of a spacer material of mandrels left in thetemporary layer.

FIG. 1E is a cross-sectional view of the substrate of FIG. 1D after adirectional spacer etch process to leave pitch-multiplied features orspacers.

FIG. 1F is a cross-sectional view of the substrate of FIG. 1E afterremoval of the mandrels.

FIG. 2 is a schematic top view of an exemplary partially formedintegrated circuit.

FIG. 3 is a schematic, cross-sectional side view of the partially formedintegrated circuit of FIG. 2 after forming a plurality ofpitch-multiplied features in and over the substrate.

FIG. 4 is a schematic, cross-sectional side view of the partially formedintegrated circuit of FIG. 3 after forming an insulating film thereover.

FIG. 5 is a schematic, cross-sectional side view of the partially formedintegrated circuit of FIG. 4 after forming a hard mask layer thereover.

FIG. 6A is a schematic, cross-sectional side view of the partiallyformed integrated circuit of FIG. 5 after forming a plurality of spacersthereover.

FIG. 6B is a schematic top view of the partially formed integratedcircuit of FIG. 6A.

FIG. 7 is a schematic, cross-sectional side view of the partially formedintegrated circuit of FIG. 6A after deposition of a bottomantireflective coating (“BARC”) thereover.

FIG. 8A is a schematic, cross-sectional side view of the partiallyformed integrated circuit of FIG. 7 after formation of a secondphotoresist pattern thereover.

FIG. 8B is a schematic top view of the partially formed integratedcircuit of FIG. 8A.

FIG. 9 is a schematic, cross-sectional side view of the partially formedintegrated circuit of FIG. 8A after etching the bottom antireflectivecoating.

FIG. 10A is a schematic, view of the partially formed integrated circuitof FIG. 9 after etching the hard mask layer through the spacers and thesecond photoresist pattern; the view is a cross-section taken along aline perpendicular to a spacer loop.

FIG. 10B is a schematic view of the partially formed integrated circuitof FIG. 9 after etching the hard mask layer through the spacers and thesecond photoresist pattern; the view is a cross-section taken along thelength of a spacer loop.

FIG. 11 is a schematic, cross-sectional view of the partially formedintegrated circuit of FIG. 10A after etching insulating film andremoving the photoresist, the BARC and the spacers.

FIG. 12 is a schematic, cross-sectional view of the partially formedintegrated circuit of FIG. 11 after deposition of a conductive materialthereover.

FIG. 13 is a schematic, cross-sectional view of the partially formedintegrated circuit of FIG. 12 after a chemical mechanical planarizationprocess is performed.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary process for formingcertain of the integrated circuit structures disclosed herein.

FIG. 15 is a schematic top view of a partially formed integrated circuitincluding spacer loops and a metal layer.

FIG. 16 is a schematic, cross-sectional view of the partially formedintegrated circuit of FIG. 13, further including an overhead contactbetween the array region and the peripheral region.

FIG. 17A is a layout view of a first mask formed by a photolithographicprocess; the first mask defines a plurality of mandrels.

FIG. 17B is a layout view of a spacer pattern obtained by performing apitch multiplication technique on the mandrels of FIG. 17A.

FIG. 17C is a layout view of a partially formed integrated circuitformed by application of a second metal mask to the spacer pattern ofFIG. 17B.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The continual reduction in feature size places ever greater demands ontechniques used to form the features. For example, photolithography iscommonly used to pattern features, such as lines, on a substrate. Theconcept of pitch can be used to describe the size of these features. Dueto optical factors such as light or radiation wavelength, however,photolithography techniques have a minimum pitch below which featurescannot be formed reliably. Thus, the minimum pitch of aphotolithographic technique can limit feature size reduction.

Pitch doubling is one method proposed for extending the capabilities ofphotolithographic techniques beyond their minimum pitch. Such a methodis illustrated in FIGS. 1A-1F and is described in U.S. Pat. No.5,328,810 (issued 12 Jul. 1994), the entire disclosure of which isincorporated herein by reference. With reference to FIG. 1A,photolithography is first used to form a pattern of lines 10 in aphotoresist layer overlying a layer 20 of a temporary or expendablematerial and a substrate 30. Common wavelengths which are used inperforming the photolithography include, but are not limited to, 157 nm,193 nm, 248 nm or 365 nm. As shown in FIG. 1B, the pattern is thentransferred by an etch step, such as an anisotropic etch step, to thetemporary layer 20, thereby forming placeholders or mandrels 40. Thephotoresist lines 10 can be stripped and the mandrels 40 can beisotropically etched to increase the distance between neighboringmandrels 40, as shown in FIG. 1C. A layer 50 of spacer material issubsequently deposited over the mandrels 40, as shown in FIG. 1D.Spacers 60 are then formed on the sides of the mandrels 40 bypreferentially etching the spacer material from the horizontal surfacesin a directional spacer etch, as shown in FIG. 1E. The remainingmandrels 40 are then removed, leaving behind only the spacers 60, whichtogether act as a mask for patterning, as shown in FIG. 1F. Thus, wherea given pattern area formerly defined one feature and one space (eachhaving a width F, for a pitch of 2F), the same pattern area now includestwo features and two spaces, as defined by spacers 60 (each having awidth ½F, for a pitch of F). Consequently, the smallest feature sizepossible with a photolithographic technique is effectively decreased byusing the pitch doubling technique.

While the pitch is actually halved in the example above, this reductionin pitch is conventionally referred to as pitch “doubling,” or, moregenerally, pitch “multiplication”. That is, conventionally“multiplication” of pitch by a certain factor actually involves reducingthe pitch by that factor. The conventional terminology is retainedherein. Note that by forming spacers upon spacers, the definable featuresize can be further decreased. Thus, pitch multiplication refers to theprocess generally, regardless of the number of times the spacerformation process is employed.

Because the layer 50 of spacer material typically has a single thickness90 (see FIGS. 1D and 1E), and because the sizes of the features formedby the spacers 60 usually corresponds to that thickness 90, the pitchdoubling technique typically produces features of only one width.However, integrated circuits often include features of different sizes.For example, random access memory circuits typically contain arrays ofmemory cells and logic circuits in the so-called “periphery”. In thearrays, the memory cells are typically connected by conductive linesand, in the periphery, the conductive lines typically contact landingpads for connecting arrays to logic. Peripheral features such as landingpads, however, can be larger than the conductive lines. Additionally,peripheral electrical devices such as transistors are preferably largerthan electrical devices in the array. Moreover, even if peripheralfeatures can be formed with the same pitch as the array, the flexibilityrequired to define circuits will typically not be possible using asingle mask, particularly if the patterns are limited to those that canbe formed along the sidewalls of resist patterns.

Some proposed methods for forming patterns at the periphery and at thearray involve three separate masks. For example, in one method, a firstmask and pitch doubling are used to form a spacer pattern, whichtypically comprises spacer loops in one region of a chip, such as thearray region of a memory device. Then, a second mask is performed toform a second pattern in another region of the chip, such as theperipheral region of a memory device. This second peripheral pattern isformed in a layer overlying the spacer pattern. This covers the centralportion of the spacer loops while the looped ends of the spacers areleft exposed to an etching process. Then, a third mask is performed toform a third pattern that includes interconnects in and/or from theperipheral region. Both the “chopped” spacer pattern and the thirdpattern are then transferred to an underlying masking layer which can beetched relative to an underlying substrate. This allows features havingdifferent sizes—as compared to each other and as compared to the spacerloops—to be formed in the circuit peripheral region. Such featuresinclude, for example, interconnect patterns. These features can overlapwith the spacer loops, can be consolidated with features in the circuitarray region, and can be subsequently etched.

In accordance with the foregoing, improved techniques have beendeveloped for forming features of different sizes, especiallypitch-multiplied features having overlapping patterns.

In certain embodiments, part of the feature pattern to be transferred toa substrate has a pitch below the minimum pitch of the photolithographictechnique used for processing the substrate. Additionally, certainembodiments can be used to form devices having arrays of electricaldevices, including logic or gate arrays and volatile and non-volatilememory devices such as DRAM, read only memory (“ROM”), flash memory andgate arrays. In such devices, pitch multiplication is usable to form,for example, transistor gate electrodes and conductive lines in thearray region of the chips, while conventional photolithography is usableto form larger features, such as contacts, at the peripheries of thechips. Exemplary masking steps in the course of fabricating a memorydevice are illustrated in the figures and are described herein.

FIG. 2 shows a top view of an exemplary partially fabricated integratedcircuit 100, such as a memory chip. A central array region 102 issurrounded by a peripheral region 104. It will be appreciated that,after the integrated circuit 100 is fabricated, the array 102 willtypically by densely populated with conducting lines and electricaldevices such as transistors and capacitors. Pitch multiplication can beused to form features in the array region 102, as discussed herein. Onthe other hand, the peripheral region 104 optionally includes featureslarger than those in the array region 102. Conventionalphotolithography, rather than pitch multiplication, is typically used topattern these larger features, examples of which include various typesof logic circuitry. The geometric complexity of the logic circuitslocated in the peripheral region 104 makes using pitch multiplicationdifficult. In contrast, the regular grid typical of array patterns isconducive to pitch multiplication. Additionally, some devices in theperipheral region 104 may require larger geometries due to electricalconstraints, thereby making pitch multiplication less advantageous thanconventional photolithography for such devices. In addition to possibledifferences in relative scale, the relative positions, and the number ofperipheral regions 104 and array regions 102 in the integrated circuit100 can vary in other embodiments.

FIG. 3 shows a partial cross-sectional view of the partially fabricatedintegrated circuit of FIG. 2, including portions of the array region 102and the peripheral region 104. Using a photolithography technique, aplurality of trenches are etched into a substrate 108, and thesetrenches are filled with an insulator 105, such as an oxide. Theinsulator 105 is a field isolation layer, and in an exemplary embodimentis a shallow trench isolation (“STI”) layer deposited in a high densityplasma (“HDP”), spin-on dielectric (“SOD”), flow-fill or TEOS process.In an exemplary embodiment, the SOD is deposited and densified.

An upper interlevel dielectric (“ILD”) insulator 106 is formed over thesubstrate, and contact is made through the ILD 106 by etching contactholes and filling with conductive plugs 110. In one embodiment, theconductive plugs 110 comprise polycrystalline silicon, although otherelectrically conductive materials can be used in other embodiments.Portions of an etch stop layer 112, such as a nitride layer, aredisposed over the insulator 106; the etch stop layer 112 is used in theformation of the conductive plugs 110. In certain embodiments, theinsulator 105 is aligned with the substrate/plug interface. However, inother embodiments the insulator 105 extends slightly above thesubstrate/plug interface, as illustrated in FIG. 3.

In the exemplary embodiment illustrated in FIG. 3, the feature size inthe array region 102 is smaller than the feature size in the peripheralregion 104. In one embodiment, the conductive plugs 110 have a featuresize of approximately 50 nm. In a preferred embodiment, the conductiveplugs 110 have a feature size between approximately 30 nm andapproximately 100 nm. More preferably, the conductive plugs have afeature size between approximately 32.5 nm and approximately 65 nm.Other feature sizes for the conductive plugs 110 can be used in otherembodiments. Additional details regarding the techniques used to formthe conductive plugs are provided in U.S. patent application Ser. No.______ (filed concurrently herewith; Attorney Docket MICRON.313A; MicronDocket 2004-1065.00/US).

As illustrated in FIG. 4, an insulator film 114 in which damascenetrenches are to be formed is deposited over the film stack illustratedin FIG. 3. In one embodiment, the insulator film comprises an un-dopedoxide film, such as an oxide film deposited from tetra ethylortho-silicate (“TEOS”), while in other embodiments the insulator filmcomprises a doped oxide film, such as BPSG or PSG. Other non-oxideinsulators can be used in still other embodiments. In an exemplaryembodiment, the insulator film 114 is deposited to a thicknesscorresponding to the conductor height to be formed in the integratedcircuit.

As illustrated in FIG. 5, a hard mask layer 116 is deposited over theinsulator film 114. In one embodiment, the hard mask layer 116 comprisesamorphous silicon, although other materials can be used in otherembodiments.

As illustrated in FIG. 6A, a plurality of spacers 118 are formed overthe hard mask layer 116. In an exemplary embodiment, the spacers areformed using a pitch doubling technique such as that illustrated inFIGS. 1A through 1F, using the disclosed photoresist mask, transfer to atemporary layer, isotropic etch and spacer process. In an exemplaryembodiment, the spacers comprise a low temperature oxide material thatcan be etched selectively with respect to the underlying hard mask layer116. For example, in one embodiment the spacers are deposited at atemperature less than about 400° C. In another embodiment, the spacersare deposited using an atomic layer deposition process. Exemplarymaterials for the spacers include silicon oxide, silicon nitride,polycrystalline silicon and carbon.

Between the spacers 118 are gaps 120 that correspond to regions of theintegrated circuit where conductive material is to be deposited. In theexemplary embodiment illustrated in FIG. 6A, the gaps 120 are verticallyaligned with the conductive plugs 110.

In an exemplary embodiment, the spacing between the spacers 118 and thegaps 120 varies between the array region 102 and the peripheral region104 of the integrated circuit 100. This is further illustrated in FIG.6B, which schematically shows a top view of the spacers 118 and theintervening gaps 120. FIG. 6B also illustrates that the spacers 118generally follow the outline of the lines formed in the photo definablelayer, thereby forming a plurality of looped ends 124.

As illustrated in FIG. 7, a BARC 122 is applied over the spacers 118.The BARC 122 is optionally applied in a spin-on process, therebyproviding a substantially planar surface. After the BARC 122 is appliedover the spacers 118, a second mask is applied. The second mask resultsin a pattern of photoresist 126 being deposited over the integratedcircuit. The photoresist pattern defines a blocked region that blocksthe looped ends 124 of the spacers 118 and defines one or more openings128 in the peripheral region 104. This is illustrated in FIGS. 8A (sideview) and 8B (top view). As illustrated in FIG. 8B, in an exemplaryembodiment the second mask is spaced apart from the spacers 118 by a gap120 a, and is spaced apart from the spacer looped ends 124 by a gap 120b. The gaps 120 a, 120 b accommodate misalignment of the second maskwith respect to the spacer pattern.

In an exemplary embodiment, the minimum width of the openings 128depends on the native resolution of the photolithographic process, whichin one embodiment is as low as 100 nm, which in another embodiment is aslow as 65 nm, and which in another embodiment is as low as 45 nm. Otherdimensions can be used in other embodiments. In an exemplary embodiment,the spacers 118 in the circuit array region 104 are sufficiently spacedapart to allow contacts 132 to be “landed” to provide interconnectionsto other levels of the integrated circuit.

In an exemplary embodiment, after the second mask is performed, the BARC122 is etched, as illustrated in FIG. 9. In a modified embodiment, thepattern defined by the second mask, including the blocked region, istransferred to an intermediate layer before etching the BARC. In suchembodiments intermediate layer or the BARC alone is used to block thelooped ends 124 of the spacers 118.

The BARC etch is followed by an etch of the hard mask layer 116, whichcan be selectively etched with respect to the spacers 118. The resultingstructure is illustrated in FIG. 10A (which is a cross-sectional viewtaken along a line perpendicular to a spacer loop) and in FIG. 10B(which is a cross-sectional view taken along the length of a spacerloop). In one embodiment, the hard mask etch is a dry etch process. Thisis followed by successive removal of the photoresist 126 and BARC 122,followed by an oxide etch. In such embodiments, the oxide etch willremove both the spacers 118 and exposed portions of the insulator film114. The conductive plugs 110 provide an etch stop. The resultingstructure, which is illustrated in FIG. 11, includes a pattern oftrenches exposing the conductive plugs 110 in the array region 102, anda pattern of other openings 128 in the hard mask layer 116 in theperipheral region 104. This sequence advantageously lowers the effectiveaspect ratio for the trenches. In a modified embodiment, the insulatorfilm 114 illustrated in FIGS. 10A and 10B is etched without priorremoval of the spacers 118. The BARC 122 is optionally omitted inembodiments wherein the substrate material is not reflective.

Regardless of how the trenches are formed, the etch processesillustrated in FIGS. 10A, 10B and 11 advantageously consolidate two maskpatterns: the pattern formed by the spacers 118 in the array region 102,and the pattern formed by the photoresist 126 in the peripheral region.This effectively forms a superposition of two distinct patterns, whichallows etching through the gaps 120 between the spacers 118 in regionsof the integrated circuit 100 not covered by the second photoresistlayer 126.

As illustrated in FIG. 12, in an exemplary embodiment conductivematerial 130 is then deposited over the partially formed integratedcircuit. Optionally, the hard mask layer 116 is removed beforedeposition of the conductive material 130. Suitable conductive materialsinclude, but are not limited to, titanium, titanium nitride, tungsten,tantalum nitride and copper. In an exemplary embodiment, the conductivematerial 130 is deposited to a thickness sufficient such that the widesttrench width in the periphery is filled. After deposition of theconductive material, a chemical mechanical planarization (“CMP”) processis used to separate the conductors in the trenches and provide theintegrated circuit with a planar surface. The resulting structure isillustrated in FIG. 13.

A flowchart illustrating an exemplary process for forming certain of theintegrated circuit structures disclosed herein is provided in FIG. 14.As illustrated, a plurality of features are defined in a first resistlayer in an array region of the memory device in an operational block150. Examples of resist layers that can be used to define the featuresare photoresist layers and imprinted resist layers. Based on thesefeatures, pitch multiplication is used to define a plurality of spacerloops in a lower masking layer in an operational block 152. In amodified embodiment, the spacer loops are formed over the patternedresist features, although this is less preferred because resist isgenerally unable to withstand spacer deposition and etch processes. Theends of the spacer loops are blocked with a second resist layer thatalso defines features in a periphery region of the integrated circuit inan operational block 156. After the second resist layer is applied, aninsulating layer in the gaps between the spacers is etched, the etchingbeing performed in a pattern defined by the second resist layer in anoperational block 158. A metal fill and subsequent CMP process can thenbe performed over the partially-formed integrated circuit in anoperational block 160, thereby allowing metal lines to be formed in theintegrated circuit array region (operational block 162) and electricalinterconnects to be formed in the integrated circuit peripheral region(operational block 164). The interconnects are optionally used toconnect integrated circuit components, such as logic components, withinthe periphery. Alternatively, the second mask can define other patterns,such as capacitors, contacts, resistors, simultaneously with blockingthe spacer loops.

In certain embodiments, the peripheral interconnects are also optionallyused to form electrical connections between the array region 102 and theperipheral region 104. This is illustrated in operational block 166 ofFIG. 14. For example, such contacts can be formed in a plane above thedamascene structure illustrated in FIG. 13. An example of such an“overhead” contact is provided in FIG. 16. As illustrated, the overheadcontact includes a plurality of contacts 146 connected by aninterconnect line 148.

FIG. 17A through 17C provide a top-down view of an exemplary embodimentof the methods illustrated in FIG. 14. In particular, FIG. 17Aillustrates a first mask 134 defined by a photolithographic process. Inone embodiment, the first mask 134 is defined in a layer of photoresistmaterial, although in other embodiments the first mask 134 istransferred to another layer, such as an amorphous carbon layer. FIG.17B illustrates a spacer pattern 136 created by first shrinking thefirst mask 134 using an isotropic etch process, and then performing apitch doubling technique on the shrunken first mask. Application of asecond metal mask 138 yields the exemplary structure illustrated in FIG.17C. This structure includes widened portions in the spacer patternconfigured to receive contacts 139 from other layers of the integratedcircuit.

Certain of the integrated circuit fabrication techniques disclosedherein offer significant advantages over conventional techniques. Forexample, conventional methodology requires three separate masks todefine the array region, to define the peripheral region, and to removethe looped ends of circuit features. In contrast, certain of thetechniques disclosed herein allow pitch reduced features to be formed ina damascene process that uses only two masks. As described herein, inexemplary embodiments the looped ends of array features can be blockedwith the same mask that is used to define periphery features.

In another aspect of certain embodiments, rules are provided tofacilitate circuit designers to implement the integrated circuitfabrication methods disclosed herein. The configuration of the masksindirectly corresponds to the integrated circuit patterns that areformed, particularly when the gaps between the spacer loops, some ofwhich are enclosed and some of which are not, define the circuitfeatures of interest. Such features can be formed as disclosed hereinusing pitch multiplication and damascene techniques. The rules discussedbelow provide a circuit designer with guidelines for building a circuitthat is formable using the techniques disclosed herein. As describedherein, building a circuit is compliance with these rules allows mixeduse of interconnects with varying pitch size while using only two masks.Specifically, a spacer layer mask, or “spacer”, is used to definepitch-reduced spacers between dense interconnect lines in the circuitarray region, and a metal layer mask, or “metal”, is used to define theinterconnect pattern in the circuit periphery region.

In an exemplary embodiment, the design rules for defining the spacer andmetal are based on two scaling factors. For a given lithography, F isthe minimum feature size that can be resolved, and D is the maximummisalignment allowed between the two masks. The variable x is a pitchmultiplication scaling constant corresponding to a feature size of thespacer loops used to define the metal lines (0<x<1). Because a singlepitch-multiplication technique is used, the actual interconnect pitchachievable using the techniques disclosed herein is F.

In one embodiment, the spacer loops are drawn in a plurality of distinctclosed loops that to not overlap or cross. Two exemplary spacer loops140 are illustrated in FIG. 15, which is a top view of an exemplaryin-process integrated circuit simplified for illustration. Asillustrated, the spacer loops have a minimum width of xF, and have aminimum space of (1−x)F.

In such embodiments, a plurality of metal features 144 are defined by aplurality of spacer loops 140. Because a damascene process is used inthe preferred embodiments, the gaps between the spacer loops, some ofwhich are enclosed and some of which are not, define the metal features144 that will subsequently be deposited (for example, by physical vapordeposition or chemical vapor deposition) or electroplated withconductive material. In addition, metal features 142 are defined onlyone side by the spacer loops 140. The metal features 144 that aredefined on both sides by the spacer loops 140 have a minimum width of(1−x)F. The metal features 142 that are defined on only one side by aspacer loop 140 have a minimum width of ((1−x)F+D). Metal features canalso be formed without restriction by a spacer loop 140 with a minimumwidth corresponding to the minimum resolution of the lithographytechnique F. As illustrated in FIG. 15, the metal features 144 have aminimum spacing of xF if separated by a spacer loop 140, and the metalfeatures 142 have a minimum spacing of F if separated by empty space orby a spacer loop 140 on only one side. If a metal feature 142 or 144 ispresent on both sides of a spacer loop 140, then the metal is drawn incontact with (that is, the metal occupies directly adjacent real estatewith) the spacer loop 140. If the metal feature 142 is present on onlyone side of the spacer loop 140, then a minimum space of min(D−xF, 0)separates the metal feature 144 from the spacer loop 140.

The circuit design rules expounded herein are based on the integratedcircuit fabrication techniques disclosed herein. In particular, using anoversized spacer mask to define subsequently pitch-reduced featureslimits the spacing of metal lines that are defined by the pitch-reducedfeatures.

Separately defining the metal and spacer layers according to the rulesprovided by the exemplary embodiments disclosed herein allows circuitdesigners to build an integrated circuit based on the actual circuitfeatures that will appear on the wafer. These rules advantageouslyaccount for the inherent limitations that arise when pitchmultiplication techniques are used to form circuit features. The use ofthe scaling parameter x allows these design rules to work with futurepitch multiplication technologies capable of producing smaller featuresizes.

Certain embodiments disclosed herein are usable to form a wide varietyof integrated circuits. Examples of such integrated circuits include,but are not limited to, circuits having arrays of electrical devices,such as memory cell arrays for volatile and non-volatile memory devicessuch as DRAM, ROM or flash memory, NAND flash memory, and integratedcircuits having logic or gate arrays. For example, the logic array canbe a field programmable gate array (“FPGA”) having a core array similarto a memory array and a periphery with supporting logic circuitry.Therefore, the integrated circuit formed using the techniques disclosedherein can be, for example, a memory chip or a processor, which caninclude both a logic array and embedded memory, or other integratedcircuits having a logic or gate array.

Scope of the Invention

While the foregoing detailed description discloses several embodimentsof the present invention, it should be understood that this disclosureis illustrative only and is not limiting of the present invention. Itshould be appreciated that the specific configurations and operationsdisclosed can differ from those described above, and that the methodsdescribed herein can be used in contexts other than integrated circuitfabrication.

1. A method for patterning a substrate, the method comprising: providingthe substrate; forming a plurality of mandrels over the substrate;forming a plurality of elongate spacer elements along sides of themandrels, the spacer elements including looped ends connecting adjacentspacer elements; depositing an organic mask material on the plurality ofelongate spacer elements; in a first region of the substrate, patterningthe organic mask material to form a blocking mask that blocks the loopedends of the spacer elements; and in a second region of the substrate,etching a pattern of trenches into an underlying material positionedunder the spacer elements.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein etching thepattern of trenches into an underlying material comprises etching intothe substrate.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein etching the pattern oftrenches into an underlying material comprises etching an insulatinglayer.
 4. The method of claim 3, further comprising: filling the patternof trenches with a metal layer.
 5. The method of claim 1, whereinpatterning the organic mask material comprises depositing and patterninga photoresist material over the organic mask material.
 6. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the organic mask material is a bottom antireflectivecoating.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein etching the pattern oftrenches into an underlying material comprises etching a hard mask layerpositioned between the plurality of elongate spacer elements and thesubstrate.
 8. The method of claim 1, wherein patterning the organic maskmaterial is conducted before the pattern of trenches is etched into theunderlying material.
 9. A method for patterning a substrate, the methodcomprising: providing the substrate, the substrate including an arrayand a logic region; providing a plurality of mandrels positioned overthe substrate, the mandrels forming a pattern that extends over both thearray and logic regions; forming a plurality of spacers that follows thepattern of the plurality of mandrels, wherein the spacers extend overboth the array and logic regions of the substrate; in the logic regionof the substrate, providing a mask material on the spacers; and in thearray region of the substrate, selectively etching between the spacerswhile providing the mask material, thereby forming a plurality oftrenches in an underlying material positioned under the spacers.
 10. Themethod of claim 9, wherein selectively etching in an underlying materialcomprises forming the plurality of trenches in the substrate.
 11. Themethod of claim 9, wherein forming the plurality of mandrels comprisesforming amorphous carbon mandrels.
 12. The method of claim 9, whereinselectively etching in an underlying material comprises forming theplurality of trenches in an insulating layer.
 13. The method of claim12, further comprising depositing conductive material into the trenches.14. The method of claim 13, depositing wherein the conductive materialcomprises an electroplating process.
 15. The method of claim 13, whereindepositing the conductive material comprises depositing a conductorselected from the group consisting of copper and nickel.
 16. The methodof claim 13, further comprising planarizing the deposited conductivematerial to form a planar surface that alternates between conductivematerial and the insulating layer.
 17. The method of claim 9, whereinselectively etching comprises etching a hard mask layer positionedbetween the spacers and the substrate.
 18. A method for patterning asubstrate, the method comprising: providing the substrate; providing aplurality of spacer elements over the substrate, the spacer elementsincluding looped ends with a middle portion between the looped ends;providing a mask material over the looped ends while exposing the middleportions of the spacer elements; and transferring a pattern defined bythe exposed middle portions of the spacer elements and by the maskmaterial over the looped ends to an underlying material, whereintransferring the pattern comprises etching through one or more hard masklayers positioned between the spacers and the substrate.
 19. The methodof claim 18, wherein providing the mask material comprises depositingand patterning a photoresist.
 20. The method of claim 18, whereinproviding the mask material comprises providing amorphous carbon maskmaterial.
 21. The method of claim 18, wherein transferring the patterncomprises etching into the substrate.